Bend shelter Saving Grace gets organizing assist

California Closets donated their designs, time and materials for the emergency shelter at Saving Grace. Three closets and an unused office are now beautifully organized with new shelving and storage units. Their shelter provides safe, emergency housing for survivors of intimate partner violence and their minor children in a confidential location.

For those needing temporary residence at the shelter, many arrive with few necessities. “Saving Grace benefits greatly from the generous donations of local residents, in the form of clothing, hygiene items, blankets and much more,” said Ryan Stillwater, Saving Grace development director. “Until California Closets came in and refreshed our existing spaces to better accommodate these donations, we were literally busting at the seams. They also converted an unused office into an additional closet, which is a tremendous blessing.”

California Closets sales and design consultants Amy Bodi and Charity Riley donated their time away from the office to assist their installers to complete the project. “Amy and Charity handled everything which made it a flawless process,” said Stillwater.

“Working with Saving Grace to better the lives of women and children in need was something I knew this company would be on board with,” said Charity Riley with California Closets. “We have the ability, resources and investment in our community, so it was a no-brainer. Working with Saving Grace was a very rewarding experience.”

California Closets estimates their donation at nearly $25,000, including design and measurement time, materials and installation.

Saving Grace relies on volunteers like Teresa to sort, store and distribute donations to residents as needed. “I find it very rewarding to put things in order and organize things. It’s nice to introduce myself and tell residents, ‘If you need something, let me know.'”

Volunteers also removed all items and existing shelves and racks prior to California Closets installing the new units. Another Bend company, Storage2U, provided a mobile storage unit to store items on-site at the shelter during the installation phase of the project.

“Supporting Saving Grace with the ability to store their property in our unit while they upgrade their facility is important to us as a company,” said Dawn Couch, Storage2U dispatch director. “Saving Grace has helped so many people; it’s the least we can do to give back and help them.”

To learn more about Saving Grace and how your business can get involved, go to saving-grace.org or call (541) 382-9277.